Local Plan: letter – Strode Farm

Why we don’t want
this development

We have objected to
the development of Strode Farm for the following reasons:

We have camcorder film
of a serious flooding issue several years ago in Bullockstone Road with homes
and gardens under water by over 1ft, followed later by another serious flood in
which the same homes again went under water.

What drainage will
be installed to deal with the water from Home Farm to Lower Herne Road? This
floods the road and in winter ices up, making the road a skating rink and
causing numerous accidents.

Strode Farm has
already put in a lagoon to the north of the new bypass because of drainage problems with
the land. This takes a lot of water
every time we have heavy rain. What drainage is proposed to cope with the
flooding there?

The present culvert
that takes water from both Hares Brook and Plenty Brook collapsed in February
2013.

How much traffic
will be trying to get out on to Bullockstone Road from the new developments which include the old golf course? The
road already suffers serious problems as it is still just a small country lane
with sharp bends and bad surfacing.

What measures are
going to be put in place for the safety of local residents who already take
their lives in their hands trying to come out of drives and onto Bullockstone
Road?

A doctors’ surgery
is to be installed on the present golf course, but how will the Estuary View
Minor Injuries Unit cope with such an influx of people to the area?

What will happen
about supplying more police for the area? We already have trouble with the lack
of policing, and it takes time to explain to Maidstone Control where
Bullockstone Road, Lower Herne Road, Owls Hatch Road, and Thornden Road are, as
they are not local to the area, already causing delays in getting here.

There are four
stable yards using the roads. How are you proposing to provide safe and secure
riding for them when the traffic increases and roads become even more dangerous
than they already are?

With more and more
food being imported from abroad more often these days, farmland should not be developed for housing when we need to feed
ourselves.

It is also
delightful to be able to look out at such a green and verdant landscape which
is why most people live here.

This tiny hamlet has
remained unchanged for hundreds of years, with only more modern buildings being
erected on the sites of the old.